ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 11 -- United States Patent no. 12,544,187, issued on Feb. 10.
"Butterfly-shaped dental matrix band" was invented by Poonam Chowdhury (Edmonton, Canada).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Described are various embodiments of a butterfly-shaped dental matrix band for performing fillings on two adjacent teeth simultaneously. In one embodiment, the band comprises a central portion, the central portion resting at the contact point upon the band being engaged in-between the adjacent teeth; two thin and pliable adjacent wings, each wing surrounding and extending away circumferentially from an edge of the central portion, and wherein a first portion of each wing comprising an area ex...